Richard Panchyk |Author of 18 Books|

Born in Queens, New York, Richard Panchyk attended the prestigious Stuyvesant High School. He received a Master’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Massachusetts/​Amherst, and also completed doctoral coursework there. He knew he wanted to be a writer by the time he was seven years old. He sold his first "book," a four-page handwritten trivia booklet, to a third grade classmate for five cents. In college, he held numerous positions on the student newspaper, including Editor-in-Chief. Among other things, he wrote more than 100 articles and published a cartoon called “Over the Ledge.” He printed a small book of his poems at the age of 19, and published his first book with Van Nostrand Reinhold at the age of 21. Since then has published 18 books for a total of more than 2,500 pages, including eight books in the “For Kids” series published by Chicago Review Press.

His books include a total of more than 1,500 images and 150 activities. His books have also been translated into Korean, Chinese, Persian, and Japanese. He has interviewed more than 30 political figures and celebrities for his books, including Kurt Vonnegut, Rudy Giuliani, John Anderson, George McGovern, Walter Mondale, Edwin Meese III, Morley Safer, Robert Morgenthau, Mario Cuomo, and Ralph Nader. Some of the nation's most illustrious leaders have contributed forewords and introductions to his books, including Former President Bill Clinton, Senators John McCain, Edward Kennedy, and John Kerry, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, and Edward Cardinal Egan (former Archbishop of New York).

He has also written more than 30 encylopedia articles for various books, including Americans at War and The Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure. His biography was published in the 2007, 2008, and 2009 editions of Marquis Who’s Who in America.